Nothing like doing the "Triple Lindy" for a warm up dive huh ?
Maybe stick a toe in to check the temp ?
Ever heard the phrase....A daughter is a Daughter, and is for life, a Son is a son , till he takes a wife ?
When the "prodigal" son returns, he bears gifts. Making up for his absence in some way. Mostly in the form of Grandchildren. When that was interrupted, I would say that your H felt unworthy to his parents in some way. Never mind the reason for now. That he couldn't bring them the one thing he most wanted to bring. Nothing could make up for that in his eyes. He felt a failure.
I would say that could be most of the reason he has trouble letting anything of theirs get away. In his mind, he disgraced them once, and throwing things of theirs away would be totally disrespectful, and add layers of guilt on top of that mountain.
By keeping their things, he is keeping a part of them close.
You have stated that because of the situation with his parents and your Daughter, that being around them was not an option. And as hard as that was for everyone, your H was the one standing in the middle of that. Torn between choices.
I'm not sure you will ever begin to understand his pain with that decision.
